Three Girls with Two Slugs Part 1
by Violin Cheng
Summary: A series of events happening to Doc and Burpy brings the Shane Gang to two different caverns, and gaining three new members in the process. Featuring Azura, Isabelle and Irene! (This story is set after Ghoul from Beyond, even though I had never watched it.)
1. Doc Misses Home

Chapter 1: Doc Misses Home

Bright rays of sunlight shone through the windows of the Shane Hideout. The slugs outside start chirping good morning to each other. The plants sway slightly in the morning breeze. It's Saturday morning. Saturday.

Sixteen-year-old Eli Shane slowly opened his eyes and stretched, yawning loudly. He got up wearily after a night of nightmares. Ghouls. The Dark Slinger. What he remembered about his father, who was thrown down to the Deep Caverns after Blakk used a ghouled Tormato on him, and his whereabouts are unknown since. They are all coming back to him every night even though he tried to banish them. It's hard being a Shane. Especially after being ghouled and healed.

Pulling himself back to reality, Eli slowly turned over and looked down from his top bunk to see Trixie, the only female member of the group. Trixie has already gotten up and is tying her hair into her signature pigtails in bed. She looked at Eli with her grassy green eyes and smiled. "Hey Eli. Had a good night's rest?"

Eli sighed. "Of course not. I have been having the same nightmares every night." He yawned again. "I wish we never fought that Dark Slinger guy." Trixie nodded slowly. She understood how Eli felt when Burpy was ghouled. She knew how Eli wanted to react when she told him that he had to trade Joules for the upgrades. He had truly bonded with his slugs. Like all Shanes do.

"I think I just wake the slugs." Eli said tiredly. He climbed further up his bed where the slugs sleep in socks, and gently shook Burpy, his Infurnus slug. "Wake up Burp. It's morning." Burpy emerged from his sock-bed looking kind of sad as well. _Everyone's having nightmares today._ Eli thought. That point was proved correct by Joules, Banger, Spinner and his other slugs, all looking disoriented even though they were the first few to sleep.

But there was something abnormally wrong with Doc, the Light element guardian slug.

"Doc?" Eli said with a hint of worry in his voice. "Doc? You okay?"

The aqua green healer slug that usually had the most energy to heal ghouls and the sick around Slugterra appears sick himself this morning. He had curled up in his sock, his usual green colour had been reduced to the murky grayish-green sick slugs have. Worse, the swirly patterns on his back and the light element symbol are flickering every second.

"Oh no, Doc…" Eli gently scooped up the sick Boon Doc in his hands. "Trixie?"

"Yes, Eli?" Trixie said worriedly as well as she climbed up the ladder leading to Eli's bed. "Is anything wrong?" She caught sight of the sick healer and knew everything. "Poor little guy. What happened to him?" Eli's crystal blue eyes darted from his sick slug to Burpy, who once got sick because of excessive exposure to ghoul energy. He tried to put everything together. He knew that Doc cured quite a number of ghouls when battling the Dark Slinger, but definitely not enough to make him sick like that. Burpy has been exposed to a lot more…but, still. "I don't know," Eli replied. "Burpy was a lot worse that time…"

"Does this mean another trip to the Lightwell?" Trixie asked, gently stroking Doc's head. "I hope not."

Suddenly, (and unexpectedly) Doc shook his head violently, triggering a small coughing fit. Eli cringed at both reactions and immediately handed Doc a slug-sized tissue paper he always keep around. As he tried to block out the muffled coughs of Doc, he thought about why Doc didn't want to go to the Lightwell. Yes, it's kind of destroyed by Blakk, but it's still usable…?

Instead, Eli gave his own answer. "I think he misses home," he stroked the Boon Doc's head. "Don't you?" Surprisingly, Doc nodded slowly.

Eli was caught by surprise. He was just guessing!

_Never mind. _He thought. _If Doc misses home, then let's bring him back to his home cavern. _"Trixie?" he asked.

"Yes, Eli?" Trixie answered with her ever-so-gentle voice.

"Check SlugNet for the Boon Doc's home cavern. We need to bring him there." He instructed.

"No need to check, Eli," she answered, shaking a finger triumphantly. "I already know."

Eli fought to let his emotions stay down, and nodded for Trixie to continue.

"It's Bonnie Springs Cavern."

* * *

"Why, Eli?! Why would you wake Pronto up when he is in the middle of a _wiener paradise!" _Pronto complained after the Shane Gang sped off to Bonnie Springs. Kord sighs. "It's not like everyone had awesome dreams like you Pronto." Kord retorted. "You know what I dreamt of? The Beast Forge collapsing _again _and this time killing off all my cave troll friends!" He winked at Eli. "Whatchya dream about, bro?"

Eli choked back a sob. "Oh, not much. Just the Dark Slinger."

Kord nodded, knowing that if he asked more, he might cause Eli to freak out. "You, Trix?"

"Thought you already know?" Trixie threw back, giving Kord a look.

"Oh yeah, slugs." Kord sighed. Sometimes Trixie can be very impatient.

Suddenly, Eli screeched to a stop and a look of shock passed his face, and Burpy squealed. The rest immediately pulled the brakes, other than Pronto, who crashed into Kord's mecha, Wyatt. Pronto reversed his mecha looking dizzy. Something was wrong.

"Guys," Eli began with a trembling voice. "There's Dark Water here."

* * *

"How close are we to Bonnie Springs?" Eli asked anxiously.

"About ten kilometers." Trixie answered, looking at her blaster monitor. "Either this was one of Blakk's newly mined Dark Water pools that is abandoned after his banishment or the Bonnie Springs people purposely put it here to ward off strangers."

"I'm guessing the latter." Eli said. Just then, Doc moaned in his slug tube. "Hang on, little guy. We just had to pass this pool of Dark Water and then we should be safe." He breathed deeply, "Come on guys, let's JUMP!"


	2. Arrival and Survival

Chapter 2: Arrival and Survival

"GO!"

The Shane Gang reversed their mechas and shot forward, leaping gracefully over the Dark Water. Just as it looks like they succeeded, Doc moaned again in his slug tube.

"Doc?" Eli asked with a slight tremble in his voice, like he always had whenever he was worried or frightened. Little did he know that he had not reached the other side of the Dark Water pool and his hand had already left the controls. It was then did Burpy squeal, making him alert of what's going on.

"AAHHH!" Eli screamed at the top of his lungs when he realized that he was plunging into the Dark Water. The others, who had already reached the other side of the pool, looked back and their eyes widened in shock. Kord suddenly remembered the flight mode and shouted back, "BRO! USE THE FLIGHT MODE!"

The natural reflex of a human when he is in danger comes into use now. Eli immediately pulled the little pink hook at the side of Lucky, his mecha beast. Lucky's hind legs instantly transformed into boosters that spit out blue flames and propelled Eli over the other side the pool. He heaved a sigh of relief when he landed safely at the opposite side.

"Come on guys. We gotta get outta here before-WHOA!" Eli swerved Lucky to the right just in time as a black shadow swooped past him on his left. He looked up, and gasped. "Wait…"

"CAVERN FLIES!" Pronto screamed. "RUN FOR YOUR LIIIVVES!"

The Shane Gang immediately jumped and started running as swarms of Cavern Flies appear out of nowhere and started chasing them. Eli was especially terrified of them ever since he was bitten by one when going to the Lightwell. They raced on, trying not to look at them as it would just intimidate them.

When the swarm seems to have increased threefold, Trixie shouted to Eli, "ELI, WE HAVE TO FIGHT BACK!"

"I KNOW TRIX!" he hollered back. He grabbed his blaster and loaded it with Burpy. "Save us, Burpy! We _have_ to get Doc to Bonnie Springs as soon as possible!" Burpy nodded with determination, and Eli turned around to shoot.

To his horror, a Cavern Fly had caught up with him and was threatening to sting him. Without delay, he pulled the trigger, and before the Cavern Flies knew it, they were reduced to cinders within seconds.

"WHOHOO!" "Nice one Eli!" "YEAH!" came the compliments from his friends. Eli blushed and said, "Come on, Trixie reminded me to do so."

With danger out of range (or so they thought), the Shane Gang reduced their mechas' speed to a brisk trot, hoping that the creatures and whatever creepy crawlies near Bonnie Springs would leave them alone as the light element symbol on top of Doc was becoming as dim as a torchlight with an almost-dead battery.

_Well, at least it stopped flickering._ Eli thought.

They were about one mile away from Bonnie Springs when disaster strikes again. This time, it's an avalanche of lava.

* * *

"OH COME ON, DON'T THOSE PEOPLE HAVE ENOUGH?!"Kord shouted with exasperation. This was the third attack on the Shane Gang, and it looked liked it was revenge for Eli shooting Burpy in order to defeat the Cavern Flies. They had no choice but to race on.

Like always, Pronto squealed like a girl when a gush of hot, steaming lava spewed out from a lava geyser nearby. They dodged the gushes of burning stuff until they heard a bloodcurdling scream.

"TRIXIE!" Eli shouted, turning Lucky around to see her holding her arm while clumsily trying to manoeuvre Boomer, her mecha beast, with only one hand. "Are you okay?!"

"It's just the lava!" she replied, immediately dodging a stream of leaking lava that spewed out at her. It barely missed her by inches. "Is Doc okay?"

Eli translated that into "The lava burnt me and I hope Doc is better now so as to heal me" and looked down at Doc. "Yeeaahh…" he said hesitantly. Just then, Kord shouted, "ELI LOOK OUT!"

Eli heard the sizzling of metal and gasped when he saw Lucky's hind paws half burnt, and lava trickling around on the ground at an alarming rate from a geyser nearby. To his surprise, the opening is just two metres in front! "We're almost there! HANG ON, TRIX!" and all of them lunged for the opening, landing in a heap with a loud clang of mecha beasts.

* * *

"Whew!" Kord sighed, and got off the mess of the Shane Gang's mecha beasts and themselves. Subsequently, the rest got up as well.

"Trixie, are you sure you're okay?" Eli asked gently, gesturing towards the spot on Trixie's arm that she was covering.

"…Nope, I guess." Trixie replied, uncovering the spot. Eli almost fainted at the sight of it. Charred skin, black and white surface, and when he asked her if he can touch it to see if it is still hot, she said okay, as she does not feel any pain anyway.

Third degree burn.

"Aha! Pronto, always has the things you need!" came Pronto's voice. Eli jumped, and then smiled when he saw the bandages that Pronto was holding. He tore off a piece and bandaged up Trixie's arm, and then looked at Lucky's hind paws. _Maybe he can stand it? _He thought. "Come on now, let's go." He said. The Shane Gang pulled their mecha beasts out from the mess of metals (and like always, Pronto had a _bit _of problem with his mecha) and sure enough, Lucky can still walk, but with a little bit of difficulty.

* * *

"Just half a mile to Bonnie Springs," Trixie said, checking her blaster monitor. "let's hope we make it there quick enough." She said, giving Doc a worried look.

Within ten minutes, they were standing at the entrance of Bonnie Springs. As they got off their mechas, Kord marveled at the intricate patterns carved on the entrance gate, saying "Wish _I _can also do that!" Eli took a deep breath, steadied his rapidly palpitating heart, and took a step forward.

Suddenly, a gush of sparkly green stuff reached out from nowhere and grabbed him, pulling him away from the entrance. He gasped and struggled to break free, but even though the stuff looks gaseous, it acts as a solid. The rest screamed and turned their heads away, not wanting to know what happened to Eli.

* * *

**Cliffhangers! That's what I love. Well, no worries, Eli is not going to get killed or anything (no clichés), so RELAX. ELI IS STILL ALIVE. YEAH.**


	3. Bonnie Springs Girls

Chapter 3: Bonnie Springs Girls

**A/N: Whew! Finally finished. I grabbed whatever time I have on my computer to write this chapter, and that won't be much, because PSLE is in two months...dang it. It took forever to think up of a name for this chapter, but still, ENJOY!**

* * *

"Thud!"

"Ouch! That hurt!" Eli said while sitting up and rubbing his right arm. He looked around, taking in his new surroundings.

_Where am I? Where are my friends? _He heard another round of moaning and looked down. "I know Doc. You'll be alright." He sighed. "If only I can get outta this place."

"Course you can." A young girl's voice resonated around the area, which is apparently a dungeon. "If you will just tell me who you are."

"Huh?" Eli said, confused. Suddenly, a bright light shone onto his face, and he shielded his eyes with his arm. When his eyes adjusted to the light, he looked up, and gasped.

An Asian-looking girl, about ten years old, stood in front of him. She had smooth brown hair, tied into a ponytail by a red rubber band, and the excess falls down the side of her face as long bangs. She wore a matching red headband and shirt, and had a clean white bandoleer slung around her shoulder. She had a blue-green ribbon with sparkling emerald embedded in it tied around her neck, and an identical one around her waist. Her skirt and boots were again in a matching green shade, and her dark brown eyes were smiling and cheerful. Nothing like what Eli imagined.

"So, what's your name, young man?" the girl said casually while tossing the glob of green sparkles up and down on her hand, which Eli recognized as the same stuff that dragged him here. It was also that light source which shone like the sun. Well, at least its light was real bright.

"Eli Shane." Eli said. "Yours?"

The girl suddenly whipped around, almost sending the green sparkles into Eli's face. She caught it just in time, and said, "_You're _the legendary Eli Shane?! Wah, I've been dying to meet you leh!" She skipped around the room, squealing with delight (and ignoring the fact that she just let her Singaporean accent show) for at least a minute before settling down and saying, "Okay, sorry, I was, huh, really happy. Oh yes and, my name is Isabelle Cheng. Princess of Bonnie Springs."

_Finally got your name._ "Oh, no wonder, you sound like a Singa…"Eli clapped his hand over his mouth. _Stupid! _He thought. _What a stupid idea to say Surface stuff to Slugterrians!_

"Oh, it's okay. I'm born in Singapore." Isabelle smiled, revealing a set of clean white teeth. "I know you are also from the world above."

Eli smiled too. "Good to know." he heard Doc moaning again and Isabelle's face immediately went pale. "Is that a Boon Doc slug? He sounds sick." She said with a tremble in her voice.

"Uh, yes, I came here to get him fixed up." Eli held up Doc, who looks as sick as ever. "Can you help him?"

"Oh my, he looks _so _bad." She scooped up Doc in her hands and continued, "Let's go look…"

"Wait, Isabelle, wait," Eli said, slowly getting up, trying to ignore the sharp pains from his right arm (the one that he landed on). "My friends are still out there, and they might be worried. Can I just get out of here to get them?"

"No need, Eli," She said with a cheeky smile. "I'll get them in a second."

_A whoosh of green sparkles again. _"No Isabelle don't…"

"WHOOSH!"

"…do that."

* * *

"Wh-what just happened?!" Trixie said while slowly uncovering her eyes.

"Not sure." Kord replied uncertainly. "Come on now let's go look for him."

"Let Pronto lead the waAAAYYYY!" The same green sparkles reached out of nowhere and grabbed Pronto, who was screaming his head off. Trixie and Kord gasped and huddled together, hoping and hoping that the green sparkles will not reach them, but their prayers were futile. One moment they're outside, and the next, they're gone.

* * *

"Ouch!"

Trixie, Kord and Pronto landed in a heap on the cold, cement floor. They got up looking woozy and took in the place.

"You're finally here," said Isabelle. "Let's go."

"Wait," Trixie began. "Who are you? Where's Eli?!"

"Right here." Eli said as Isabelle's healing magic illuminated their faces.

"ELI!" Trixie shouted with joy. She leapt towards him and caught him in a bear hug, and he winced at the sudden pain in his right arm. Luckily, it wasn't too audible.

"Guys, this is Isabelle, Princess of Bonnie Springs. She can heal Doc," Eli said, gesturing towards Isabelle with his left arm while keeping his right arm behind his back. "But first…I guess we need to get outta here."

"Right on." Isabelle said with a serious expression on her face. "Let's go."

* * *

On the way, Pronto muttered under his breath with disdain, "This girl doesn't look like a Princess at all."

Isabelle caught the remark, but she didn't retaliate. Instead, she muttered under her breath as well, "Stereotypes, stereotypes and more stereotypes."

* * *

"There," Isabelle said while stopping in front of a big, green door labeled 'Healer Slugs'. "We're here."

"Whoa," Kord said, his eyes widening at the carved designs on the door. "Why is everything in here so _awesome_?!"

Trixie rolled her eyes. "Kord, why do you love _everything _in here?"

"Cos they're _awesome!_" Kord grabbed Trixie by her collar and brought her close to his face to exaggerate his point. Trixie cringed at the stench of his breath. _When was the last time he brushed his teeth? _She wondered in disgust.

Isabelle untied the ribbon, which appears to be an energy amulet, from her neck and inserted it into the hole under the handle. A bright light flashed and a click can be heard, then Isabelle turned the handle. The door opened slowly to a magnificent golden room, filled with Boon Docs and whole bunch of slugs the Shane Gang couldn't name. Amongst them was another girl who looks exactly like Isabelle, other than her hair, which had a red and white star clip in it and was tied into two ponytails with red purple elastic bands. She looked up at the Shane Gang and smiled shyly.

"Guys, meet my twin sis, Irene." Isabelle walked over to the girl and knelt down beside her. "Irene, they're the legendary Shane Gang."

Eli was the first one to walk over as the rest gaped at the marvelous design of the room. "Hey," he said quietly. "I'm Eli."

"Hi Eli." Irene said with an even quieter voice.

"She's a bit shy around strangers," Isabelle explained.

"That's Trixie, Kord and Pronto," Eli continued, nodding at his friends respectively. "We came here to get Doc fixed."

In response, Isabelle held out Doc, who looked slightly better, if not cured. Irene's eyes widened at this sight and said, "Oh poor little guy, he looks so homesick!" and grabbed Doc from her sister's hand, bringing him close to her face.

Eli gasped. "H-how did you know?"

Isabelle shrugged. "Oh, it's in us Chengs' blood, to see the patients' problem without asking them. And it's simple really, to heal this little slug. Just put him with the others and allow them to interact for two hours. In the meantime, why not have a snack? You guys must _really _have burnt a lot of calories just trying to get here."

Surprisingly, Isabelle was right, Eli did feel a little hungry. "Okay then," he said. "Let's go."

The three of them got up and walked towards the door, dragging a reluctant Kord away from the room. As Irene locked the door with her energy amulet, Pronto asked Isabelle, "Don't you need someone to watch over the slugs, in case they…"

Isabelle chuckled and put her hand on Pronto's shoulder. "Pronto," she said. "Slugs also need privacy." And then she hopped away, catching up with Eli and chattering happily with him.

Pronto sighed with frustration. _Nobody understands me._


	4. Silent but Deadly

Chapter 4: Silent but Deadly

"Here we are at the dining room." Isabelle said, stopping at a golden door. (Yes, Kord was blown away by the design again.) She opened it with her energy amulet, and the door swung open to a sparkling light blue room, complete with crystal chandeliers and glass furniture. (Other than the couch and sofa at the far end of the room.) But the most astonishing were two people dressed in slugslinger clothes, one young lady and man, standing in the middle of the room. _Who are they? _Eli wondered.

Just then, Isabelle and Irene leapt into the two people, shouting, "Mom! Dad!" Both of them stroked the girls' hair lovingly and looked up, registering the Shane Gang's presence.

"Mom, Dad, meet the famous Shane Gang." Isabelle said cheerfully, walking up to Eli and tugging at his arm. _Ow! _Eli thought, holding his arm. _Watch it! _He did his best to manage a smile as the girls' mother approached him.

"So, you are the son of Will Shane," she said, examining Eli's face with her light brown eyes. "Quite attractive boy, really."

The gentle, soft voice of Mrs Cheng fills Eli with nostalgia, reminding him of his own mother's soothing songs that sang him to sleep every night on the Surface. If not for that dagger which took her life…Eli hid his sadness away and forced a thankful smile. **(A/N: The story of Eli's mother will be explained in Lightning Strikes Twice, a tragedy story that I am going to write soon!****)**

"Uh, thanks, madam." Eli said awkwardly. Just then, Mr Cheng came up as well, and said with a grin, "What have you come here for?"

"Just to get our Boon Doc fixed." Trixie said, putting her hand on Eli's shoulder. "He's homesick."

"Oh," Mr Cheng replied. "Come on now, have a snack. You guys must be hungry."

Within minutes, the Shane Gang and the Cheng family have sat down with plates of delectable food (a lot better than Pronto's homemade meals, which can make Eli sick), and Pronto was complaining about the sausages.

"Why don't you have wieners?" he whined. "These are too small!"

"Pronto!" Eli said with annoyance. "You can't expect wieners to be everywhere, okay?"

Pronto was about to retaliate, but when he looked at the angry faces of Eli, Trixie and Kord, he sighed and sank into his chair, trying to eat the tiny sausages. **(A/N: I based this off the sausages that they serve at the celebratory lunch my school treated us to. Aaaand…Rosedragons ate quite a few of them.)**

Kord was confused when he saw the entire family eating with two sticks each. "Wh-what's that?" he pointed to the sticks in Isabelle's hand.

Isabelle looked at him with a full mouthful of noodles, and then she gulped it down and continued staring at Kord, making him feel uncomfortable. As though she is studying him to see if he is bright enough to understand what she is going to say next. After that, she waved Eli over, and whispered into his ear, "Have you told them about the world above yet?"

"Course I did," Eli whispered back. "I told them like, months ago when the idiot adventurer Gar Rivelle wanted to invade it. Also, can you use the word 'Surface' instead of 'the world above'?"

"Okay." Isabelle replied.

"Whatchya guys talking about?" Kord asked. "Are you trying to hide something?"

His voice made both teenagers (yes, technically twelve is also counted as a teenager) jump. Isabelle immediately covered that up by saying hurriedly, "Uh, no…oh yes, you know I am also from the Surface, right?"

Suddenly, Irene and her parents stopped eating and stared at Isabelle like she had a million heads. Then, Irene said in a trembling voice, "Isabelle…CHENG?!" She leapt across the dining table with incredible agility and pounced onto her sister. "HOW COULD YOU SAY THAT?! YOU KNOW THAT IS VERY DANGEROUS, RIGHT?! NOW SEE WHAT YOU'VE DONE!" she screamed, assaulting Isabelle repeatedly despite the fact that Isabelle was trying to explain the situation to her. The rest of the party was dumbfounded, watching this quiet, contained girl transform into a raging beast who dared to lash out on her own twin sister.

"Irene, Irene, STOP!" Eli shouted as him and Kord tried to pull the angry girl off her sister's body, but Irene was surprisingly strong, and she kicked Kord in the face and Eli in the chest, sending both of them reeling backwards. Trixie caught Eli as he breathed heavily, holding his left hand over his chest (apparently Irene had hurt his ribs) and Mr Cheng stopped Kord with his magic, and Kord rubbed his face and grimaced in pain.

"IRENE CHENG! STOP! NOW!" Mr Cheng hollered at his daughter while gently setting Kord down on the sofa. "LOOK AT WHAT YOU HAVE DONE!"

By then, Eli had fainted from the pain, and Mrs Cheng is tending to Kord's face. Irene immediately deflated and got off from her sister, who was red-faced, sobbing and panting by then. She suddenly turned tomato red, and awkwardly sat down beside Trixie, who was pleading Eli to wake up. A small stream of green magic leaked out from her fingertips and landed on Eli's chest, and almost instantly, he opened his eyes slowly and Trixie sighed in relief.

Isabelle got up slowly, using her magic on wherever Irene had hit her. "Irene Cheng," she said softly. "Eli had already told them about the Surface, okay?"

Because of this little matter, Irene was sent up to bed early (it's only like, 7pm), and the rest of the meal was eaten in silence.

* * *

At the end of it, Mrs Cheng said quietly to Eli, "You guys should stay here for the night. Let your slug have some time with his friends."

Eli was about to decline when a stabbing pain invaded his right arm again. "Yeah, thanks." He said before Mrs Cheng directed them to their guest rooms.

It was now 9pm, and Eli brushed his teeth, took a bath and changed into one of the soft pyjamas in the closet. As he snuggled down under the fluffy green covers, he stroked his right arm carefully. He's pretty sure it's hurt, and his thought wandered back to the time when Irene assaulted him unintentionally.

_Why didn't anyone notice? _He wondered. He can't tell his friends-they will freak out. The Chengs seem pretty good…but after Twist, he can't trust acquaintances much anymore. Isabelle had told him she can see injuries without asking, so she definitely saw that something was wrong with his arm. Then, why didn't she heal it? Is she trying to save that for some kind of surprise?

Eli drifted off to sleep, hoping that the surprise will be pleasant.


End file.
